The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. Under Section 3(A)(9) of the Water Services Act 2014 (inserted by Section 48 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015), a person who is a tenant of a dwelling let to him/her under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 and who proposes to purchase the dwelling shall, before completion of the sale, provide the local authority concerned with a certificate of discharge from Irish Water confirming that any charge under section 21 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 in respect of the dwelling owed to Irish Water has been paid. The sale of the dwelling cannot proceed until a certificate of discharge in respect of the dwelling has been received from Irish Water.
The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2016 suspends charges for a period of nine months, commencing on 1 July 2016 and ending on 31 March 2017. This Act provides that any period of suspension of domestic water charges shall not count towards the time period for the calculation of late payment charges in respect of unpaid water bills. However, arrears of water charges incurred by households remain to be discharged.
Therefore, under the current legislative framework, tenants who propose to purchase a property under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme must provide a certificate of discharge from Irish Water confirming charges up to 30 June 2016 have been paid.
In line with the commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of the scheme’s operation is currently being undertaken by my Department. To inform the review, a public consultation was undertaken, with a closing date for submissions of 10 February 2017. Any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary based on the evidence gathered will be brought forward.
I expect the review to be completed on schedule by the end of Quarter 1 2017.
